INDIANAPOLIS - Junior Angelos Karkalis and sophomore Rebecca Zaiter were named the Horizon League's respective Male and Female Runners of the Week, as announced by League officials Tuesday afternoon. Both student-athletes collected individual event titles during last weekend's split squad competitions at the Panther Tune-Up and EIU Friday Night Special.

It is the first honor of the season for either, though Karkalis' twin brother, Photis, won took the weekly award on Jan. 29.

Karkalis brought home the individual title in the 800-meter run at the Panther Tune-Up in Milwaukee. He crossed the finish line in 1:53.53, convincingly outpacing the field of nine runners. It marked the fourth-best time in the Horizon League this season. Karkalis also boasts the League's fourth-best time in the 1-Mile Run (4:14.35), a mark he achieved at the NCC Cardinal Open in January.

"Angelos has showed continued improvement in his speed over the last few weeks and I'm not surprised to see his times drop so rapidly," said head coach Jim Knoedel. "I'll be shocked if we don't see a school record in the mile this weekend. He has his sights set on a sub 4:10 on Sunday afternoon."

Zaiter accounted for 10-of UIC's 15 team points at the EIU Friday Night Special in Charleston, Ill. In just her first time competing in the 1-Mile Race, Zaiter broke the indoor school record in the 1-Mile Run, crossing the finishing line in 5:00.09. The mark was the fourth-best in the Horizon League this season. Zaiter also owns the League's fourth-best tally in the 800-meter race (2:12.99) this season.

"Even though she has tremendous ability I was shocked that Rebecca ran so fast on Friday," Knoedel said. "She has never run the race in college and to win the race and set a school record - that was special. I don't think she realizes how talented she is, and down the road we are looking for her as a qualifier for the NCAA West Regional Meet in Austin, Texas."

Both Karkalis and Zaiter will return to action this weekend as the Flames compete in the Horizon League Championships at the WATTS complex on the campus of Youngstown State. The competition begins Saturday at 8:00 a.m. CST, and is expected to conclude early Sunday evening.